Late Adulthood: Social and Emotional Development

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CHAPTER 18

• Late Adulthood Social and Emotional Development

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Theories of Social and Emotional Development in
Late Adulthood
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Theories of Social and Emotional Development in
Late Adulthood

• Eriksons psychosocial theory
• Eighth or final stage of life is called ego
  integrity or despair he believed people who
  achieved positive outcomes to an earlier life
  crisis would be more likely to obtain ego
  integrity than despair in late adulthood
• Ego integrity versus despair
• Basic challenge is to maintain the belief that
  life is meaningful and worthwhile in the face of
  physical decline and the inevitability of death
  ego integrity derives from wisdom, as well as
  from the acceptance of ones lifespan as being
  limited and occurring at a certain point in
  history adjustment in the later years requires
  wisdom to let go

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Robert Pecks Developmental Tasks

• Peck outlined three developmental tasks that
  people face in late adulthood
• Ego differentiation versus work-role
  preoccupation
• Body transcendence versus body preoccupation
• Ego transcendence versus ego preoccupation
• Ardelt (2008) writes that ego transcendence grows
  out of self-reflection and willingness to learn
  from experience.
• Ego transcendence is characterized by a concern
  for the well-being of humankind in general, not
  only of ourselves and those we love.

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Robert Butlers Life Review

• Butler (2002) suggests reminiscence is a normal
  aspect of aging.
• People can be extremely complex and nuanced.
• They can be incoherent and self-contradictory
• Life reviews attempt to make life meaningful, to
  help people move on with new relationships as
  others in their lives pass on, and to help them
  find ego integrity and accept the end of life.
• Butler (2002) argues helping professionals rely
  too much on drugs to ease the discomforts of
  older adults.
• Pilot programs suggest therapists may be able to
  relieve depression and other psychological
  problems in older adults by helping them
  reminisce about their lives.

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Disengagement Theory

• Disengagement theory
• Older people and society mutually withdraw from
  one another as older people approach death.
• People in late adulthood focus more on their
  inner lives, preparing for the inevitable.
• Government or industry now supports them through
  pensions or charity rather than vice versa.
• Family members expect less from them.
• Older people and society prepare to let go of one
  another.
• Well-being among older adults is predicted by
  pursuing goals, rather than withdrawal.

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Activity Theory

• Activity theory
• Older adults are better adjusted when they are
  more active and involved in physical and social
  activities.
• Physical activity is associated with a lower
  mortality rate in late adulthood.
• Leisure and informal social activities contribute
  to life satisfaction among retired people.
• Israeli study found benefits for life
  satisfaction in activities involving the next
  generation, the visual and performing arts, and
  spiritual and religious matters, but there was
  also value in independent activities in the home

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Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

• Socioemotional selectivity theory
• Looks at older adults social networks
• Theory of motivation hypothesizes increasing
  emphasis is placed on emotional experience as we
  age
• Research by Carstensen et al. (1999) indicated
  proportion of emotional material recalled
  increased with the age group, showing greater
  emotional response of older subjects.
• Social contacts limited to a few individuals who
  are of major importance to us as we grow older
• Does not mean older adults are antisocial
• See themselves as having less time to waste and
  they are more risk-averse
• They do not want to involve themselves in painful
  social interactions

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Fig. 18-1, p. 374
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Psychological Development
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Self-Esteem

• Robins et al. (2002)
• Recruited more than 300,000 individuals, who
  completed an extensive online questionnaire that
  provided demographic information and measures of
  self-esteem
• Results indicated self-esteem of males was higher
  than that of females
• Self-esteem highest in childhood and dips with
  entry into adolescence
• Self-esteem then rises gradually throughout
  middle adulthood and declines in late adulthood,
  with most of the decline occurring between the
  70s and the 80s
• All this is relative
• The measure of self-esteem is above the mid-point
  of the questionnaire for adults in their 80s

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Fig. 18-2, p. 375
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Self-Esteem (contd)

• Drop in self-esteem may be due to life changes
  such as retirement, loss of a spouse or partner,
  lessened social support, declining health, and
  downward movement in socioeconomic status
• Or older people are wiser and more content
• Older people express less body esteem
• Older men express less body esteem than older
  women
• Men more likely to accumulate fat around the
  middle, women accumulate fat in the hips
• Sexual arousal problems more distressing for the
  male
• Older adults with poor body esteem tend to
  withdraw from sexual activity, often frustrating
  their partners.

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Independence/Dependence

• Older people who are independent think of
  themselves as leading a normal life.
• Those who are dependent on others, even only
  slightly dependent, tend to worry more about
  aging and encountering physical disabilities and
  stress.
• A study of 441 healthy people aged 65-95 found
  dependence on others to carry out the activities
  of daily living increased with age
  (Perrig-Chiello et al., 2006).
• Interviews of stroke victims found independence
  in toileting is important in enabling older
  people to avoid slippage in self-esteem (Clark
  Rugg, 2005).

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Depression

• Affects some 10 of people aged 65 and above
• Depression in older people sometimes a
  continuation of depression from earlier periods
  of life and sometimes a new development
• Appears to have multiple origins
• Can be connected with the personality factor of
  neuroticism
• Possible structural changes in the brain
• Possible genetic predisposition to imbalances of
  the neurotransmitter noradrenaline may be link
  between depression and physical illnesses such as
  Alzheimers disease, heart disease, stroke,
  Parkinsons disease, cancer

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Depression (contd)

• Depression is connected with the loss of friends
  and loved ones, but depression is a mental
  disorder that goes beyond sadness or bereavement.
• Loss of companions and friends will cause
  profound sadness, but mentally healthy people
  bounce back within a year or so.
• Depression goes undetected, untreated in older
  people much of the time.
• May be overlooked because symptoms are masked by
  physical complaints such as low energy, loss of
  appetite, and insomnia
• Healthcare providers tend to focus on older
  peoples physical health than their mental health

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Depression (contd)

• Depression connected with memory lapses and other
  cognitive impairment, such as difficulty
  concentrating
• Some cases of depression are simply attributed to
  the effects of aging or misdiagnosed as dementia,
  even Alzheimers disease
• Depression in older people can usually be treated
  successfully with the same means that work in
  younger people, such as antidepressant drugs and
  cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy.

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Depression (contd)

• Untreated depression can lead to suicide, which
  is most common among older people.
• Highest rates of suicide found among older men
  who
• have lost their wives or their partners
• lost their social networks
• fear the consequences of physical illnesses and
  loss of freedom of action
• Fewer older adults suffer from depression than
  younger adults, suicide is more frequent among
  older adults, especially Caucasian men.

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Anxiety Disorders

• Anxiety disorders affect at least 3 of those
  aged 65 and above, but coexist with depression in
  about 8 to 9 of older adults.
• Most frequently occurring anxiety disorders among
  older adults are generalized anxiety disorder
  (GAD) and phobic disorders.
• Panic disorder is rare
• Agoraphobia affecting older adults tends to be of
  recent origin and may involve the loss of social
  support systems due to the death of a spouse or
  close friends.
• GAD may arise from the perception that one lacks
  control over ones life.

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Anxiety Disorders (contd)

• Anxiety disorders increase levels of cortisol (a
  stress hormone).
• Takes time for them to subside
• Cortisol suppresses functioning of the immune
  system, so that people are more vulnerable to
  illness.
• Mild tranquilizers are commonly used to quell
  anxiety in older adults.
• Psychological interventions
• Cognitive-behavior therapy
• Shows therapeutic benefits in treating anxiety in
  older adults
• Does not carry the risk of side effects or
  potential dependence

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Social Contexts of Aging
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Communities and Housing for Older People

• Older Americans report that they prefer to remain
  in their homes as long as their physical and
  mental conditions allow them.
• Older people with greater financial resources,
  larger amounts of equity in their homes, and
  stronger ties to their communities are more
  likely to remain in their homes.
• Older people with declining health conditions,
  changes in their family composition, and
  significant increases in property taxes and costs
  of utilities are likely to need to consider
  residing elsewhere.

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Communities and Housing for Older People (contd)

• Older people who live in cities, especially inner
  cities, are highly concerned about exposure to
  crime, particularly crimes of violence.
• Most concerned
• People of advanced old age (80 and above), in
  poor health, and of depressed mood
• People aged 80 and above less likely to be
  victimized than people in other age groups
• Social support helps older people cope with their
  concerns about victimization
• If victimized, it helps them avoid some of the
  problems that characterize posttraumatic stress
  disorder

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Communities and Housing for Older People (contd)

• Older people who can no longer manage living on
  their own may have access to home health aides
  and visiting nurses to help them remain in the
  home.
• Affluent older people may be able to afford to
  hire round-the-clock or part-time live-in help.
• Others may move in with adult children
• Others may move into assisted living residences
  in which they have their own apartments but
  community dining rooms and nursing aid with
  physicians on call and available in the facility

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Communities and Housing for Older People (contd)

• Older adults who relocate to residences for the
  elderly, whether or not they have facilities for
  assisted living, tend to experience disrupted
  social networks and challenges for finding new
  friends and creating new networks.
• Residences should have communal dining facilities
  and organized activities, including
  transportation to nearby shopping and
  entertainment.
• Residents take time in engaging other people
  socially and are selective in forming new
  relationships.

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Communities and Housing for Older People (contd)

• Older adults may be most reluctant to relocate to
  nursing homes because nursing homes signify the
  loss of independence.
• Surveys indicate that older adults are relatively
  more willing to enter nursing homes when they
  perceive themselves to be in poor health and when
  one or more close family members live near the
  nursing home.
• Elder abuse
• Staff acts harshly toward residents, sometimes in
  response to cognitively impaired residents acting
  aggressively toward the staff well-selected and
  well-trained staff can deal well with impaired
  residents

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Religion

• Religion involves participating in the social,
  educational, and charitable activities of a
  congregation as well as worshiping.
• Religion and religious activities provide a vast
  arena for social networking for older adults.
• As people undergo physical decline, religion asks
  them to focus, instead, on moral conduct and
  spiritual, not physical, substance such as the
  soul
• Studies find religious involvement in late
  adulthood is usually associated with less
  depression and more life satisfaction as long as
  it is done in moderation.

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Religion (contd)

• Frequent churchgoing associated with fewer
  problems in the activities of daily living among
  older people
• Older African Americans who attend services more
  than once a week live 13.7 years longer, on
  average, than their counterparts who never attend
  church
• In-depth interviews with the churchgoers find
  reasons such as the following for their relative
  longevity
• avoidance of negative coping methods such as
  aggressive behavior and drinking alcohol
• evading being victimized by violence
• hopefulness
• social support

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Marriage

• 20 to 25 of marriages last half a century or
  more, only to end with the death of one of the
  spouses.
• Couples report less disagreement over finances,
  household chores, and parenting/grandparenting.
• Concerns about emotional expression and
  companionship
• Older couples show more affectionate behavior
  when they discuss conflicts, and they disagree
  with one another less in general.
• Similarity in personality is less of a
  contributor to conflict than in midlife,
  consistent with the finding that similarity in
  conscientiousness and extraversion is no longer
  strongly associated with marital dissatisfaction.

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Divorce, Cohabitation, and Remarriage

• Older adults less likely than younger adults to
  seek divorce fear of loss of assets, family
  disruption, and relocation, and older adults do
  not undertake divorce lightly
• If divorcing, often because they belong to an
  aberrant marriage that is punitive or because one
  of the partners has taken up a relationship with
  an outsider
• 4 of older adults of the unmarried population
  cohabit
• Less likely than younger people to wish to
  remarry
• Older cohabiters report being in more intimate,
  stable relationships.
• Younger cohabiters see their lifestyle as a
  prelude to marriage, older cohabiters are more
  likely to see their relationship as an alternate
  lifestyle.

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Gay and Lesbian Relationships

• Gay men and lesbians in long-term partnerships
  tend to enjoy higher self-esteem, less depression
  and fewer suicidal urges, and less alcohol and
  drug abuse.
• Gay men in long-term partnerships are also less
  likely to incur sexually transmitted infections.
• Gay men and lesbians sometimes form long-term
  intimate relationships with straight people of
  the other sex relationships do not involve
  sexual activity, but the couples consider
  themselves to be family and are confidants.

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Widowhood

• Middle-aged male widowers are relatively more
  capable of dealing with their loss than older
  males.
• Men and women need to engage in the activities of
  daily living (taking care of their personal
  hygiene, assuming the responsibilities that had
  been handled by their spouse, and remaining
  connected to the larger social community).
• Widowhood more likely to lead to social isolation
  than is marital separation
• Reasons for isolation are physical, cognitive,
  and emotional

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Widowhood (contd)

• Widowhood leads to a decline in physical and
  mental health, including increased mortality and
  deterioration in memory functioning.
• Loss of a spouse heightens risks of depression
  and suicide among older adults, more so among men
  than women.
• Men who are widowed are more likely than women to
  remarry, or at least to form new relationships
  with the other sex.
• Women, more so than men, make use of the web of
  kinship relations and close friendships available
  to them.
• Men may be less adept than women at various
  aspects of self and household care.

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Singles and Older People without Children

• Single older adults without children just as
  likely as people who have had children to be
  socially active and involved in volunteer work
• Tend to maintain close relationships with
  siblings and long-time friends
• Very old (mean age 93) mothers and women who
  have not had children report equally positive
  levels of well-being
• Married older men without children appear to be
  especially dependent on their spouses.
• Parents seem to be more likely than people
  without children to have the social network that
  permits them to avoid nursing homes or other
  residential care upon physical decline.

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Siblings

• Older sibling pairs tend to give each other
  emotional support.
• True among sisters (women more likely than men to
  talk about feelings) who are close in age and
  geographically close
• After being widowed, siblings (and children) tend
  to ramp up their social contacts and emotional
  support.
• Support begins to decrease within two to three
  years
• A sibling, especially a sister, often takes the
  place of a spouse as a confidant
• Twin relationships more intense in terms of
  frequency of contacts, intimacy, conflict, and
  emotional support
• Frequency of contact and emotional closeness
  declines from early to middle adulthood, but
  increases again in late adulthood (mean age at
  time of study 71.5 years)

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Friendship

• Older people narrow friendships to friends who
  are most like them and share similar activities.
• To regulate their emotions, they tend to avoid
  friends with whom they have had conflict over
  the years.
• Friends form social networks that keep elders
  active and involved.
• Friends remain confidants with whom older adults
  can share feelings and ideas.

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Friendship (contd)

• Friends provide emotional closeness and support.
• Friendships help older adults avert feelings of
  depression.
• Social networking helps with physical and
  psychological well-being of older adults in the
  community and in residential living facilities.
• Older adults have a difficult time forming new
  friendships when they relocate with time,
  patience, and encouragement, new friendships can
  develop.

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Adult Children and Grandchildren

• Grandparents provide a perspective on the
  behavior and achievements of their grandchildren
  they might not have had with their own children.
• Both cohorts view each other in a positive light
  and see their ties as deep and meaningful.
• Grandparents-grandchildren conceptualize their
  relationships as distinct family connections that
  involve unconditional love, emotional support,
  obligation, and respect.
• Grandparents and adult grandchildren often act as
  friends and confidants.
• Their relationship can seem precious, capable of
  being cut short at any time

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Retirement
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Retirement and Retirement Planning

• The average person has two decades of life in
  front of him or her at the age of 65, indicating
  a need for retirement planning (Arias, 2011).
• Retirement planning may include regularly putting
  money aside in plans (IRAs, Keoghs, and various
  pension plans in the workplace).
• Investing in stocks, bonds, or a second home
• Older people may investigate the kinds of
  healthcare and cultural activities that are
  available in other geographic areas of interest.
• If they are thinking of another area, they will
  also be interested in learning about the weather
  and crime statistics

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Retirement and Retirement Planning (contd)

• Couples in relationshipsincluding married
  heterosexuals, cohabiting heterosexuals, and gay
  and lesbian couplesusually but not always make
  their retirement plans interdependently.
• The greater the satisfaction in the relationship,
  the more likely the couple are to make their
  retirement plans together
• In married couples,
• husbands more often than wives tend to be in
  control of the plans
• although control was also related to the
  partners workload and income level

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Adjustment to Retirement

• Older adults who are best adjusted to retirement
  are highly involved in a variety of activities.
• The group most satisfied with retirement
  maintained leisure and other non-work-related
  activities as sources of life satisfaction or
  replaced work with more satisfying activities.
• They retired at a typical retirement age, had a
  wealth of resources to compensate for loss of
  work they were married, in good health, and of
  high SES (Pinquart and Schindler, 2007)

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Adjustment to Retirement (contd)

• The second retiree group retired at a later age
  and tended to be female.
• The majority of the third group retired at a
  younger age and tended to be male..
• The second and third groups were not as satisfied
  with retirement they were in poorer health, less
  likely to be married, and lower in socioeconomic
  status than the first group.
• The third retiree group had a spotty employment
  record retirement per se didnt change these
  peoples lives in major ways.

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Adjustment to Retirement (contd)

• Adjustment of older retirees may be affected by
  their pre-retirement work identities
• Upscale professional workers continued to be
  well-adjusted and had high self-esteem
• They considered themselves retired professors or
  retired doctors or retired lawyers
• Hourly wage earners and other blue collar workers
  had lower self-esteem and were more likely to
  think of themselves as simply a retired person.
• The following factors made adjustment to
  retirement difficult
• a lengthy attachment to work
• lack of control over the transition to retirement
• worrying and lack of self-confidence

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Leisure Activities and Retirement

• Engaging in leisure activities is essential for
  retirees physical and psychological health.
• Joint leisure activities contribute to
  satisfaction of marital and other intimate
  partners and to family well-being.
• Contributing to civic activities or volunteering
  to assist in hospitals enhances retirees
  self-esteem and fosters feelings of
  self-efficacy.
• If health remains good, leisure activities carry
  over from working days and may ease transition to
  retirement.
• Physical aspects of aging and the death of
  companions with whom the retiree had shared
  leisure activities can force changes in choice of
  activities and diminish satisfaction.

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Successful Aging
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Successful Aging

• Americans in their 70s report being generally
  satisfied with their lives.
• Many older people are robust.
• According to a national poll of some 1,600 adults
  by the Los Angeles Times, 75 of older people say
  they feel younger than their years (Stewart
  Armet, 2000)
• Definitions of successful aging
• Physical activity, social contacts, self-rated
  good health
• The absence of cognitive impairment and
  depression
• Not smoking
• The absence of disabilities and chronic diseases
  such as arthritis and diabetes
• Another definition includes high cognitive
  functioning and high social networking

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Selective Optimization with Compensation

• Selective optimization with compensation
• Older people manage to maximize their gains while
  minimizing their losses
• Successful agers
• form emotional goals that bring them satisfaction
• no longer compete in arenas better left to
  younger people, such as certain athletic or
  business activities
• tend to be optimistic
• often challenge themselves by taking up new
  pursuits such as painting